Comparisons to Wii Fit are inevitable. The first thing you should know is that while both titles preach healthy living and fitness, they focus on different aspects of exercise. Wii Fit is all about posture, flexibility, and balance through relaxing Yoga exercises and light aerobics. On the other hand, Golds Gym is about making your heart pump through rigorous boxing training sessions.
Like Wii Fit, when you first start Golds Gym Cardio Workout you are asked to make a profile in which you input your weight, height, and on-screen avatar. Up to eight players can create profiles on one game save. Once this process is done you select your trainer and preferred control method, and start your first boxing lesson. After a control tutorial you are taken to the main menu, where you decide where you want to go next.
The first option youll see is Shape Boxing. This is where youll go through rhythm boxing lessons of various skill levels. Everything from the rules and basics of Golds Gym to advanced boxing lessons can be found here. Each section has up to six lessons; each lesson tells you the duration of the exercise, the difficulty rating, and approximately how many calories you will burn before you start. When you complete the tests the game rates your performance by giving you your bodys age. All of the lessons are unlocked from the start, and you can choose which one you want to participate in. There is one last difficulty setting that can be unlocked.
Next is Boxing Examination. Once you feel that you have mastered the boxing lessons you can go to this mode and participate in each test. Each test is unlocked as you successfully complete the previous one.
The fun continues with Exercise mode. This mode has various mini-games that vary a bit from the boxing lessons, but keep the fundamentals of fitness intact. Rhythm, quick punching, and dodging and weaving are covered here. In this mode you can also use the Wii Balance Board for additional exercises.
Finally there is the My Data option. As the name states, this is where you keep track of your records, change your character data, and even buy clothes for your character. Borrowing a page from Wii Fits playbook, each day is tracked by the number of punches you threw during each session, and the accomplishments you have achieved each day.
Golds Gym allows you to either use the Wii Remote and Nunchuck or two Wii Remotes. While both control setups work great, the game works best with two Wii Remotes. The game does a great job of detecting the timing and rhythm of your punches. The game also lets you choose a song before each lesson. Many tracks are offered, including Eye of the Tiger from the movie Rocky. You can also alter the volume of the track if you want more music or to hear the voice of the trainer more clearly.
All of this makes Golds Gym Cardio Workout a very robust and well-documented fitness title. The presentation of the games exercises rival that of Wii Fit, thanks to its trainers always shouting commands while helping you keep the rhythm. You will almost never feel lost or confused when handling even the most complicated session. Best of all, when you start a day in Golds Gym you have the option of choosing a light session to warm up, or selecting the A La Carte mode, which lets you select which exercises you want to perform for the day.
An important factor in any exercise program (whether its through fitness games like this one or real life training) is that it provides enough positive reinforcement to encourage the player to keep at it, yet allows enough flexibility to let the player exercise his or her own way. Golds Gym excels at both. As previously mentioned, the trainers are always barking commands as well as motivating you to follow the rhythm, and you can choose which exercise to do each day.
One advantage Golds Gym has over Wii Fit is that all of the exercises and lessons are easy to learn, allowing any player of any skill to participate. Not everyone can complete the yoga and strength training lessons in Wii Fit, and it can be very demanding regarding how you perform an exercise. If you can punch, dodge, and weave, then you can play any of the lessons that Golds Gym offers.
That said, there are a few minor flaws. Dodging and weaving takes a while to master, due to the game using the movement of the Wii Remote(s) to detect what the player is doing. The additional mini-games need to be unlocked, something that some players don't like about Wii Fit and might not appreciate in Golds Gym. Sadly theres no head to head mode for 2 players. Finally, while the game offers some exercises that use the Balance Board, they are the same exercises seen in Wii Fits strength training, making them somewhat redundant since in when you get the Balance Board you also get Wii Fit with it.
Golds Gym Cardio Workout might seem like a wannabe riding off the success of Wii Fit, or worse, be considered by some as a shameless shovelware title. But if you give the game a chance you will discover that, even when it borrows ideas from Wii Fit, it does enough on its own to make it a compelling package that complements Wii Fit very well. If youve played Wii Fit a lot and want to discover something different, Golds Gym Cardio Workout is definitely worth a look.
Pros:
Lastability: 9.0
Like with any exercise regimen - whether on a video game or in real life - Golds Gym will last as long as the player is willing to invest time in it. The game, however, really tries to convince the player that this is a long-time commitment with more than enough reasons to keep trying to earn the best ratings in each exercise.
Final: 9.0
Despite facing tough competition from Wii Fit and other games on the market, Golds Gym Cardio Workout has plenty of value thanks to its presentation and unique fitness regimen.
Check out the Japanese commercial for it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHZvmdisnUM
Wow, I'm impressed.
This might be a good one to get the family because they've gotten bored with the regular WiiFit and this might get them more motivated to use it. What's MSRP for this title?
Best commercial ending ever.
I just love how she treats herself to a huge mug of beer even though most fitness trainers advice against it.
...& awkward locker room moments.
Check out the Japanese commercial for it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHZvmdisnUM
Best commercial ending ever.
Is this really a good idea for Gold's Gym to do? If people get this, which is like the cost of one month's gym membership, they'll have no need to actually go to the gym anymore.
If they really wanted it to sell it should have come with a coupon for WiiFit, I probably would buy it just to pass the coupon onto a friend that doesn't have WiiFit yet.
Does this game even support the balance board?
Well, maybe if someone had put the boxart in the original post I would have seen it as I skipped straight down to the review scores ;)
Wait they don't? Can I ask why? Thats not cool. Do you know how often I jump from headlines to screen shots? Every article I've ever looked at on the front page of NWR I'm like, WTF where is the media!? Then I go to IGN.exactly. thats why i don't bother with the main site but I shouldn't have to run to IGN for screen shots either.
Wait they don't? Can I ask why? Thats not cool. Do you know how often I jump from headlines to screen shots? Every article I've ever looked at on the front page of NWR I'm like, WTF where is the media!? Then I go to IGN.
Now for the day I bash a highly anticipated Wii title... :DIf this review is any indication, you're more likely to get flak for overrating a game.
Good, because reviews can really help a review. Not only do they let you point out something in the game (when it can be difficult to explain in words), they also let readers see what the game looks like.
Now for the day I bash a highly anticipated Wii title... :D
If this review is any indication, you're more likely to get flak for overrating a game.
I can't imagine who told Pedro that images aren't allowed in reviews. That's never been a site policy, to my knowledge. In fact, we have one review from LONG AGO that was just one big image. Our reviews don't show screens by default because the site is not formatted that way. That will be changing soon, and it's long overdue.
Regarding this game... it sounds like the rhythm boxing mini-game in Wii Fit. I don't get the appeal of an entire game based around that one activity.
In fact, we have one review from LONG AGO that was just one big image.
